Funding crisis could finish drug education group

A DRUG education organisation operating for the last 27 years said it faces closure after its funding was axed.

Community Awareness of Drugs (CAD), which provides drug education and training programmes for parents and community workers, said it will close its doors next March.

Coordinator Bernie McDonnell said this follows a decision by state agencies to cease funding their project, which has been operating since 1983.

“We are about to fold due to an almost overnight decision by statutory services relating to approx €160,000 for 2011,” said Ms McDonnell.

“Because of this we urgently need replacement funding. Failing to secure this will result in our having to close our doors on March 1, 2011.”

Ms McDonnell said the addiction service in the HSE Mid-Leinster region and the south inner city local drugs task force – which fund their project – were moving away from drug education and prevention programmes.

“Instead, they are concentrating on what are called frontline services, ie those associated with treatment and rehabilitation,” said Ms McDonnell.

She said CAD, a registered charity, has been in negotiations with the HSE and the task force for the last three months in a bid to appeal their decisions. “All such moves have been in vain,” said Ms McDonnell.

She said they had written to Health Minister Mary Harney and drugs strategy minister Pat Carey.

Ms McDonnell said in addition to the funding cuts, their office lease was up next March and they could no longer afford to renew it.

Drug projects are bracing themselves for further cuts in Budget 2011. This follows an 8% cut in local task force funding in Budget 2010. Mr Carey told the Irish Examiner: “I appreciate fully the value of the work carried out by CAD in contributing to the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy and the drugs task forces keep me fully advised .”

But he said he recognised the independence of drugs task force in identifying local issues and priorities.

He said: “I understand a sub-group of the task force was established specifically to review all funded projects in the south inner city local drugs task force area and was mandated to make proposals to the task force following this exercise.”

Mr Carey said funding for 2011 would be advised to drug task forces in early December, after the budget.